Identifying Clinical Instructors' Measures to Prevent Medical Accidents involving Nursing Students during the Nursing Clinical Practicum

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify and discuss clinical instructors' measures to prevent medical accidents involving nursing students during the nursing clinical practicum. This study is a secondary analysis using the data collected from the previous study. Questionnaires were mailed to 1,309 clinical instructors. This study used open-ended questions asking about the measures they undertook to prevent medical accidents and their personal characteristics. A content analysis for nursing education based on Berelson's methodology was applied, and 665 valid responses were analyzed. As a result, 29 categories were identified, for example, “Informing nursing students about rules that they should strictly observe to prevent accidents during nursing practice, in line with rules which govern the instruction of nursing students”, “Assigning nursing staff shifts and asking nursing students to vary their practice time to ensure that a clinical instructor or staff nurse member will be present during nursing students' practice”. The reliability of categories was confirmed by calculating agreement rates using Scott's formula. All categories exceeded 70%. The results suggested that clinical instructors' measures to prevent medical accidents while participating in nursing clinical practicum demonstrate 8 characteristics. This study can be used to help clinical instructors appraise themselves objectively and improve their own measures.